As my family well knows, roadside attractions don’t often attract me. I’m not compelled by big balls of string, souvenir stands, or scenic views. I’m one of those road-trippers who races herself, tries to “make good time,” stop as little as possible. I literally run to and from the bathroom while the gas is pumping and eat most all of my food in transit so that I don’t lose time. But, there is one reason why I may want to blow my run at a “personal best” in travel time: the random, local fruit and vegetable stand.
Most recently, it was the sign for boiled peanuts that compelled me to turn off the road and stop at Jimmy’s fruit and vegetable stand, just outside Deep Gap, North Carolina. I had just dropped off our eldest daughter at Turtle Island Preserve, Eustace Conway’s sustainable homestead located fairly near to Jimmy’s, and was very much enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the mountain air. A bend in the road revealed the promise of soft, salty goodness and I just had to pull over and get out of the car.
Jimmy’s was one of those establishments that could be described as way more than a stand and far less than a store. The presence of grapes and bananas let me know I had to be careful and ask about the origin of each item, but it was clear that Jimmy’s favored the local farmer. A large open porch overflowing with produce opened into a basic building that featured a wall filled with shelves and shelves of preserves—jams, jellies, pickles—from local artisans. Local eggs, salted pork and baked goods were also on sale.
Because I would be unable to cook anything much for myself for the next few days, purchasing any of the tomatoes, berries, cucumbers, onions, peppers, melons, carrots, or beets made little sense. I would have been happy enough to walk out of the place with only the peanuts in hand.
Then, I saw the sign: South Carolina peaches $15 a basket.. For those who understand farm measurement, it looked like a healthy peck to me. Could be that you can find peaches cheaper somewhere, (I do want to compare this price with my favorite stand in Michigan—just off I-94 at Exit 27), but right then the bulk purchase just made sense to me. It would be a few days before I got home, so I asked for a “green” basket and was off.
For the most part, the peaches were consumed apple-style, one at a time, by the various members of our household. After a few days, I had to stick them into the fridge to prevent a major fruit fly infestation, and they kept their form for the next couple weeks.
Yesterday I realized I had to do something with the remaining ones or they would go bad. Peach turnovers, I decided, would revive the slightly wizened flesh and provide a happy ending to a glorious summer day. This recipe isn’t glamorous, but it is simple and, when you include a few raspberries in the mix, is bound to impress any guest.
Peaches are just starting to ripen here in the north—you should find them at any local farmer’s market right now, or at the random fruit stand in Michigan. Get yourself a peck or two. Eat them on the pit; blanch, cut and freeze them for later. Dice them and put them into marinades for pork or shrimp. And, when it seems there may be little life left make ’em into turnovers. Serve with high quality vanilla bean ice cream and enjoy.
Peach turnovers
—One package frozen puff pastry (Aldi’s brand compares favorably with Pepperidge Farm)
—Four or five larger peaches
—A generous handful of raspberries (optional)
—One and a half tablespoons cornstarch
—Juice of half a lemon
—¼ cup of sugar—maybe less if the peaches and berries are really sweet
—½ tsp of vanilla—optional
—Pinch of cinnamon—optional
Directions
1. Your first step will be to peel and dice the peaches. You can find directions for the best way to peel peaches online, but basically you need to have them sit in boiling water for five to eight minutes. Drain the hot water and run in a colander under cold water for a few minutes. The skin will move away from the flesh and be easy to remove.
2. Preheat the oven to the time listed on the puff pastry package.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, sugar, as well as the vanilla and cinnamon if desired. Stir in the cornstarch. Ingredients will create a liquidy paste.
4. Place fruit into bowl on top of cornstarch mixture and mix gently, yet thoroughly.
5. Following the directions on the box of puff pastry, cut the pastry into squares (I usually make four per sheet) and place into the center of each square about half a cup of the fruit mixture.
6. Bring the four corners of the pastry together in the center and pinch to close. You may wet them a bit to make the corners stick to each other. Sometimes the corners still pull away, but the fruit still usually stays “inside” so it will be fine.
7. Paint lightly with milk and sprinkle with sugar if you like.
8. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes and then check every three to five minutes or so until the top of the pastry has golden brown edges and looks done.
9. Remove from the baking sheet immediately and place onto racks to cool for at least 15 minutes.
10. Serve warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.